VodafoneThree hosts inaugural ceremony recognising community groups, hospitals, schools and councils using air quality data to protect public health
London held its first Breathe London Awards this week, recognising organisations across the capital that have used real-time air quality data to drive practical improvements in public health and community awareness.
The ceremony, hosted by VodafoneThree at its London headquarters, brought together local authorities, healthcare providers, schools and community groups working to address air pollution at a local level. Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy Mete Coban MBE attended alongside members of the Breathe London consortium and clean air campaigners from across the city.
Why Air Quality Data Matters for London
Air pollution remains one of London’s most significant public health challenges, contributing to respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and reduced life expectancy, particularly among children, older residents, and people with pre-existing health conditions.
The Breathe London network addresses a long-standing problem: air pollution is largely invisible, making it difficult for residents and policymakers to understand local exposure levels or take targeted action. By deploying live sensors across 32 London boroughs and the City of London, the network converts complex environmental data into accessible, localised insight that communities and institutions can act on.
This Year’s Award Winners
The inaugural awards recognised six categories of achievement:
- Community Collaboration: Knitting the Air
- Health & Wellbeing: Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts
- Local Authority Leadership: London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Schools: William Byrd Primary School
- Storytelling: What’s the Matter CIC
- Judge’s Choice: Great Ormond Street Hospital
The winning projects span healthcare settings, education, and grassroots community organising — demonstrating that effective air quality action in London is being driven across multiple sectors rather than by any single institution.
Hospitals using air quality data to inform patient care and public health messaging reflects a growing recognition that environmental factors are now a core consideration in clinical practice, particularly for respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Tower Hamlets’ recognition for local authority leadership highlights how individual boroughs are translating citywide environmental data into neighbourhood-level policy and resident engagement.
The Technology Behind Breathe London
Since June 2025, VodafoneThree has led a consortium providing the digital infrastructure underpinning the next phase of the Mayor of London’s Breathe London Network. This involves enabling connectivity for air quality sensors and supporting the platform that hosts and distributes the resulting data.
VodafoneThree is also hosting sensors at its own sites and using its network infrastructure to expand access to hyper-local air quality data across the capital — extending coverage into areas that previously had limited environmental monitoring.
Catherine Holiday, Head of Sustainability & Social Impact at VodafoneThree, said the project’s significance lies in converting complex data into clear, local insight that prompts action rather than passive observation. She noted that the organisations recognised demonstrate what becomes possible when technology, collaboration, and local leadership work together.
Five Years of Breathe London
The Breathe London initiative has expanded significantly since its launch, growing from an early pilot monitoring network into one of the most comprehensive city-wide air quality systems in the world. Speaking at the event, Mete Coban MBE highlighted the initiative’s evolution over the past five years, describing the awards as recognition of what is possible when air quality action happens at a local level — helping build a cleaner, safer city for all Londoners.
Why This Matters Beyond the Awards
Air quality monitoring networks like Breathe London serve a dual function: they provide scientific data for policymakers setting emissions targets and traffic policy, while also empowering residents, schools, and community groups to understand and respond to pollution levels in their immediate surroundings.
For London specifically, this matters given the capital’s dense population, high traffic volumes, and ongoing efforts to meet air quality targets under the London-wide Ultra Low Emission Zone and broader Mayoral environmental strategy. Localised data allows for targeted intervention — such as adjusting school drop-off times, informing hospital patient guidance, or supporting borough-level planning decisions — rather than relying solely on citywide averages that can mask significant local variation.
As more organisations gain access to hyper-local air quality data, the potential for community-driven environmental action across London continues to grow.
For more on London businesses being recognised for excellence and innovation, see seven London businesses shine at the British Business Awards 2026.
